Carbureted water gas process



. Jan. 5, 1937. J. 5. HAUG ET AL CARBURETED WATER GAS PROCESS Fi led Aug. 29, 1952 WIT/MESS. 1

Z M y m m 5 mi 7 & W W

Patented Jan. 5, 1937 UNITED; STATES CABBURETED WATER GAS PROCESS Pennsylvania Application August 29, 1932, Serial No. 630,782 2 Claims. (01. 4a zo) The present invention relates to the manufactureof mixed oil gas and water gas.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved method of 5 making combustible gas of relatively high calorific power as compared with ordinary carbureted' water, gas and which may be-matchable with such high calorific power gas as natural gas, or which may be mixed in large proportion with natural gas and burned satisfactorily in burners adjusted for natural gas.

By matchable is meant that the calorific power and specific gravity of the gas are such that it may be substituted 100 per centum for natural gas without necessitating changes in burner adjust.- ment. By ability to be mixed with natural gas is meant the ability to mix-over fifty per centum of the manufactured gas with the natural gas without requiring burner readjustments.

go The calorific powerof natural gas is in the neighborhood of 1100 B. t. u. per cubic foot and its specific gravity is in the neighborhood of 0.65.

The manufacture of such a gas requires the production of more oil gas of high calorific power per unit of finished gas than is required in ordinary carbureted water gas practice in order to furnish the high calorific power. In order to furnish the required specific gravity a larger propotion of hydrogen must be present to oifset the tendency of the increased quantity of rich oil to raise and partial vertical cross section.

Referring to the drawing: I indicates a generator, provided with the porous ignited fuel bed 2. 3 is an air supply means for up air blasting. 4 is an air supply means for providing secondary air, which may also be used 1 for down air blasting and which leads into the generator through bustle pipe 5 and ports 6. l is a steam supply means for up steaming and 8 a steam supply means for down steaming. 9 is an oil supply means for spraying oil onto the top of the fuel bed. Ill is a gas ofitake provided with valve ll leading from the base of the generator to the wash box l2.

The generator is connected at the upper portion with the upper portion of the carbureter l3, by the connection I provided with valve l5, and at its lowerportion is connected with the lower portion of the carbureter by the connection I6 provided with valve ll. The carbureter is provided with the oil supply means l8 which includes a spray for spraying oil into the carbureter. The carbureter is preferably provided with checkerbrick is, though under certain conditions it may 5 be desirable to employ an empty carbureter. The

' carbureter is connected with the superheater 20 by the connection 2|. The superheater is provided with checkerbrick indicated at 22. 23 is the stack valve. Connection 24 leads from the i0 superheater, through valve 25 to the wash box 26. 21 is the gas ofitake from the wash box 26 and leads through valve 28 to storage or other disposal. The gas ofitake 29 controlled by valve 30, leads to storage or other disposal, from wash box l2, 16 the gas passing out from wash box 12 is'united with that passing from wash box 26 as indicated diagrammatically by the line 3|.

The carbureter may also be provided with th gas ofitake 33 which leads through valve '34 to 20' the wash box 26. 35 is an oil supply means including a spray for spraying oil into the superheater. 36 is a steam supply means for supplying steam to the superheater. 3! is asteam supply to the carbureter. 38 is a secondary air 25 supply to the carbureter.

In operation, the fuel bed is blasted with air supplied at'3, storing heat in the body of the fuel bed. The resultant producer gas is burned with secondary air supplied through 4 heating the 30 top of the fuel bed and storing heat in the walls of the space above it. The blast gases pass through connection l4, carbureter l3, connection 2|, and superheater 20 to the stack, storing heat in the carbureter and superheater. 36

During this step valve 11 is closed and valves l5 and 23 are open.

A short steam purge is then made with steam admitted at 1.

After the purge, with valves 3| 1,v ll, 23 and 34' shut and valves i5, 25 and 28 open, an uprun is made with steam supplied at I. Oil is sprayed simultaneously through oil supply means 9 onto the top of the fuel bed and the oil vaporized by 45 the heat stored in the top of the fuel bed and in the walls of the top of,the fuel chamber. Simul= taneously oil is sprayed into the carbureter through oil supply means I 8, and vaporized therein. The oil vapors from the generator together 50 with the water gas produced by the uprun steam pass through the carbureter, with the oil vapors produced in the carbureter, and thence through the superheater where the fixing of the oil gasis completed. The resultant gas passes through PATIENT, OFFICE...

connection 24 to wash box 26 and thence through lines 2'! and 3| to storage.

A down run is now made with valves l5, 23 and 34 shut and valves I1, 25 and 28 open. Steam and oil are introduced to the top of the generator through supplies 8 and 9 respectively. The oil is vaporized on the top of the fuel bed and the oil vapors pass with the steam through the fuel bed where the oil vapors are cracked to gas consisting largely of hydrogen and methane, depositing the bulk of the carbon liberated by the cracking upon the surfaces of the fuel. The resultant gas passes through connection l6 and through the base of the carbureter to the superheater. At the same time oil with some steam is admitted to the top of the carbureter through oil supply means l8 and steam supply means 31. This oil is vaporized in the carbureter and the resultant oil vapors are carried by the steam through the carbureter joining the reformed gas coming fromthebase of the generator and passing with it'throu'gh the superheater to the wash box 26 and thence to storage.

The cracking operation in the fuel bed has a tendency to produce a stiff pitch which makes a very troublesome deposit in take off pipes and wash boxes on cooling. The oil vaporization in the carbureter and fixing in the superheater where the'cracking is not as severe as in the fuel bed produces a fiuid tar. The leading of the reformed gas while hot into the base of the carbureter to join the oil gas produced in the carbureter and superheater, obviates the trouble from pitch as the tar produced in these vessels renders the pitch sumciently'fluid. After the down.run a short purge may be made and the cycle repeated.

In making high calorific power gas of specific gravity in the neighborhood of 0.65, a large amount of blue water gas is not desired in the finished gas. Therefore the steam admitted during the runs may be limited to that required to furnish a carrying vehicle for the oil vapors and to control the temperature of the fuel bed so as to avoid excessive space cracking with the consequent carrying out of the fuel bed of large quantities of lamp black on the downrun.

To control the fuel bed temperature without adding to the blue water gas in the finished-gas, steam may be admitted during the air blast and the resultant water gasburned with the blast gases. This has the merit of furnishing additional heat for oil vaporization.

As an alternative, in controlling the temperature of the fuel bed without increasing the quantity of blue water gas in the finished gas, a. separate steam run may be made and the resultant for the oil vaporization, during the heating up operation oil or tar may be admitted to the carbureter top through l8 and burned with air supplied through 38. Oil and tar may also be burned in the top of the generator, by admitting oil or tar through 9 and air through 4.

In the foregoing description it is stated that during the above operations the valve 34 is closed. If the cycle-is confined to the foregoing steps the connection 33 and the valve 34 may be omitted. However at the end of the run in order to recuperate heat carried to the superheater top, with valves l5, 23 and 25 closed and valves I! and 34 open, oil may bev admitted to the superheater top through oil supply means 35, together with some steam as a carrying medium through steam and up through the carbureter.

supply means 36. The oil is vaporized in the superheater top and the resultant oil vapors are fixed in passing down through the superheater At the same time oil and steam may be admitted to the generator top and the oil vaporized on the top of the fuel bed and the resultant vapors cracked in the fuel bed, the reformed gas passing through connection I6 and up through the carbureter together with the oil gas from the superheater, the mixed ,gases passing to wash box 26 by. Way of connection 33 and thence through connection 21 and.

- 3| to storage.

. end of the run, and employing these means, with valves 25, 34, 23 and I5 closed and valves 3|! and I1 open, oil and steam may be simultaneously admitted through 35 and 36 respectively to the superheater, through l8 and 31 respectively to the carbureter and through 9 and 8 respectively to the generator. The resultant oil gas passes from the bases of the superheater and carbureter to the base of the generator where it mixes with the reformed gas resulting from passage through the fuel bed, the mixed gases passing to the wash box l2 through connection |0 and thence through connections 29 and 3| to storage.

In the above operations the air blast may be reversed by employing the secondary air supply 4 as a primary air supply for down blasting, the resultant blas't gases passing through connection I6 to the base of the superheater and through the superheater to the stack.

The invention provides for relatively inexpensive changes to an ordinary carbureted water gas set whereby its capacity for vaporizing, fixing and reforming oil is greatly increased. Of especial importance in this respect is the combination of the valved bottom connections lead- .ing from the generator to the carbureter and the valved connection between the tops of these vesselsf -Many of the above advantages would be secured by a valved connection between the bottom of the generator and the bottom of the superheater instead of the direct connection between the bottoms of the generator and carbureter, and this is considered to be within the scope of the invention.

It will be obvious that in the above operations in which the oil gas from the carbureter and superheater and the reformed gas from the generator may pass together to either of the two wash boxes, that one wash box might be employed instead of two.

- The fuel bed employed is preferably of coke,

although very little of such fuel is consumed com-' The carbon liberated in cracking the oil scope of this invention.

The checker-brick I!) or the walls of an empty carbureter form heat storage material.

We do not intend to be limited in the practice of our invention save as the scope of the prior art and of the attached claims may require.

We claim:

1. A process of manufacturing combustible gas as practiced in a set including a generator containing an ignited fuel bed, acarbureter, and a superheater, said process including the following steps: air blasting said ignited fuel bed, burning the resulting blast gases, and storing the heat of said combustion in the top of said fuel bed, in the top of said generator, in said carbureter,

and in said superheater; and another step being introducing liquid hydrocarbon to the top of said generator, vaporizing said hydrocarbon there,

, passing the resulting gas down through the fuel up through the carbureter thereby mixing the gas from the generator and the gas from the superheater, and leading ofi said mixture to storage.

' 2. A process of manufacturing combustible gas v as practiced in a set including a generator containing an. ignited fuel bed, a carbureter, and a superheater, said process including the following steps: air blasting said ignited fuel bed, burning the resulting blast gases, and storing the heat of saidcombustion in the top of said fuel bed, in the top of said generator, in said carbureter, and in simultaneously introducing liquid hydrocarbon to the top of the superheater, vaporizing said hydrocarbon there, passing the resulting hydrocarbon gas down through the superheater, conducting said hydrocarbon gas to the base of the generator, mixingsaid gases from said generator, from said carbureter, and from said superheater, and leading oif the mixture of said gases to storage.

JOSEPH A. PERRY. HARUTYUN G. TERZIAN. JOHN s. HAUG. 

